Factors Associated With Frequent Remission of Microalbuminuria in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

Factors Associated With Frequent Remission of Microalbuminuria in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Shin-ichi Araki 1 , Masakazu Haneda 2 , Toshiro Sugimoto 1 , Motohide Isono 1 , Keiji Isshiki 1 , Atsunori Kashiwagi 1 and Daisuke Koya 1 3 1 Department of Medicine, Shiga University of Medical Science, Otsu, Shiga, Japan 2 Second Department of Medicine, Asahikawa Medical College, Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan 3 Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism, Kanazawa Medical School, Ishikawa, Japan Address correspondence and reprint requests to Shin-ichi Araki, MD, PhD, Department of Medicine, Shiga University of Medical Science, Otsu, Shiga 520-2192, Japan. E-mail: araki{at}belle.shiga-med.ac.jp Abstract To estimate the frequency of remission/regression of microalbuminuria and to identify factors affecting such outcomes in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes, we observed 216 patients with type 2 diabetes and microalbuminuria enrolled during an initial 2-year evaluation period for the next 6 years. Remission was defined as shift to normoalbuminuria and regression as a 50% reduction in urinary albumin excretion rate (AER) from one 2-year period to the next. Reduction of urinary AER was frequent, with a 6-year cumulative incidence of 51% (95% CI 42–60) for remission and 54% (45–63) for regression, whereas the frequency of progression to overt proteinuria was 28% (19–37). Microalbuminuria of short duration, the use of renin-angiotensin system-blocking drugs, and lower tertiles for HbA 1c (